Twins – Page 204 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Worth Noting

Posted on February 8, 2012February 8, 2012 by David Shama

Jim Rantz, Twins senior director for minor league operations, likes infielder Brian Dozier who will start the season at Class AAA Rochester. Dozier hit .296 in the Arizona Fall League and will play mostly second base at Rochester, although he’s drawn past speculation as a big league shortstop.

Sports Headliners has been told that to build a Vikings Stadium on the Arden Hills site will require about 33 permits from government agencies, a far larger number than building on or near the Metrodome site.

The Gophers, 0-2 in the Big Ten this season against Iowa, play another border rival tomorrow night, Wisconsin at Williams Arena. The Gophers play in Madison on February 28.

Minnesota coach Tubby Smith, now in his fifth season with the Golden Gophers, is 6-2 in rivalry games against Iowa, and 3-3 versus Wisconsin.

The Gophers will likely start two Minnesotans tomorrow night, forward Rodney Williams and guard Joe Coleman. The Badgers figure to start three Minnesotans, forward Mike Bruesewitz, center Jared Berggren and guard Jordan Taylor.

Last season Badgers sophomore guard Josh Gasser became the first Big Ten freshman to earn a triple double since Magic Johnson in 1977.

The NBA All-Star balloting is a reminder about the lack of quality centers in pro basketball compared with power forwards. Superior power forwards like the Wolves’ Kevin Love weren’t voted on to the first team.

The Wild are home tomorrow night against Vancouver, part of a favorable home schedule the rest of the season that has Minnesota playing 18 of its remaining 29 games atXcel EnergyCenter. Tickets remain for all home games.

The Wild’s Cal Clutterbuck and Nick Schultz answer questions and provide autographs tonight at Main Street Bar and Grill in Hopkins. Matt Kassian and Nate Prosser will do the same on Monday at Cowboy Jack’s in Bloomington. Both appearances begin at 7 p.m. and are part of the Wild Hockey Unplugged series. Autograph tickets for each player will be distributed.

Saint John’s forward Aaron Barmore knows about perfection. The former Bloomington Jefferson High School player is the MIAC Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week. All he did last week was not miss a single field goal attempt in helping the Johnnies upset St. Thomas for the first time since 2003 and also defeat Hamline. Barmore averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds per game. He made all 12 of his field goal attempts.

The Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game training camp will for the first time be at Saint John’s University in Collegeville. The game will be played on June 30 at TCF Bank Stadium.

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Twins Goal Remains World Series

Posted on January 30, 2012January 30, 2012 by David Shama

The Twins lost 99 games last season and were unable to repeat as Central Division winners, but club president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners the franchise isn’t deflated about the news 2011 division champ Detroit has acquired slugger Prince Fielder. He also said his organization goes into each season with the goal of winning the World Series.

Baseball talk was prevalent over the weekend with fans attending the three-day TwinsFest at the Metrodome. In a few weeks the Twins open spring training in Fort Myers with only a few changes from the 2011 roster.

The Twins were World Series champions in 1987 and 1991. When will they win another a World Series? “We’re working hard. We’re trying,” St. Peter said. “That’s obviously the goal every year. …We do believe there’s still a core group of players (on the 2012 roster) that can contribute to a world championship.

“Our job as an organization is to continue to try to build on that base and to continue to acquire through all means—whether it means through the draft, whether it be free agency, whether it be trade—incremental players who are winners. At the end of the day that’s the road that we’re on and we feel good about that.”

The Twins won division titles in 2009 and 2010, but the Tigers were champions last year with a 95-67 record compared with Minnesota’s 63-99. In 2010 the Twins were 94-68. That record and season gives St. Peter optimism.

“I think it’s important to remember that the starting (pitching) rotation we’ll go to spring training with—mainly (Carl) Pavano, (Francisco) Liriano, (Scott) Baker and (Nick) Blackburn—those were the same guys that were the starters for us in 2010 when we won 94 games and a division championship. We believe in those guys. We think they all can contribute to a very successful season. …We’re looking for bounce back years from those guys.”

St. Peter said he wasn’t discouraged by news the Tigers signed Fielder last week for a reported $214 million. Fielder hit 38 home runs and drove in 120 runs for Milwaukee last year.

“…Hey, you respect the teams in your division, obviously,” St. Peter said. “We’ve been battling the Tigers for a decade. We’ve come out most of the time in this division. They’re the defending champs so they’re gonna defend.

“They had a significant loss in Victor Martinez and now they’ve replaced that bat with Prince. We tend to focus more on the Twins and what we can do. As long as our guys are healthy and we play at the level that we’re capable of playing, we like our chances to play and contend in this division, and that includes the Tigers. …”

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Worth Noting

Posted on January 30, 2012January 30, 2012 by David Shama

Twins president Dave St. Peter said the organization is hopeful major league baseball will decide in the “next couple months” to award the 2014 All-Star game to Minneapolis.

Camilo Pascual, who was the Twins first ever 20 game winner and ranks second all-time in shutouts, will be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony July 14 at Target Field.

Twins manager Tom Kelly had 1,140 wins, ranking No. 1 in franchise history and No. 43 in major league baseball. He will become the seventh person in Twins history to have his number retired on September 8 as part of a pregame ceremony at Target Field.

Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith described Saturday’s 77-72 overtime win against Illinois as a victory Minnesota “desperately” needed. The win gave the Gophers a 4-5 Big Ten record and a win against a former top 25 team.

“We want Tyus!” That was the chant on Saturday night from the Minnesota student section encouraging Apple Valley High School sophomore point guard Tyus Jones to become a Gopher. Jones watched the game from near the Minnesota bench.

Mike Markuson, a 1982 Hamline graduate, is the new offensive line coach at Wisconsin. A Farmington, Minnesota native, Markuson was a defensive tackle for the Pipers. His coaching stops include Mississippi where he’s been the last five years (co-offensive coordinator).

Former Gophers golfer and New York Times best selling author Harvey Mackay shares advice from his UM golf coach in “The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World.” Les Bolstad told Mackay to approach every shot on the golf course as if it were his last. “Therefore, it better be my best,” Bolstad instructed.

United States Tennis Association Northern Section Hall of Famer Nick Pappas died last week. Funeral services are today starting at 11:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church, 3450 Irving Ave. South in Minneapolis.

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